Daniel Dubois' coach breaks silence on party before Oleksandr Usyk defeat
Daniel Dubois ' trainer Don Charles has DEFENDED the Brit's dad's 'gathering' ahead of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
'Triple D' suffered his second defeat to the Ukrainian on Saturday night in front of over 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The 27-year-old was looking to level the series after suffering a ninth round knockout loss in the initial encounter back in 2023.
Usyk dominated the majority of the sequel thanks to his sharp jabs and quick movement. Dubois did have his moments in the fourth round - but was eventually stopped deep into the fifth after being dropped twice. However, the biggest news came before the undisputed showdown after the Brit pulled up to the venue 90 minutes before he was due to make the walk to the ring.
It has since been revealed that Dubois' dad held a party at his house in Essex just hours before the fight. However, the young Brit's trainer has defended the pre-fight bash and insists it is not the first time the heavyweight has held a gathering before a huge outing.
Speaking on talkSPORT's White and Jordan, Charles insisted it was a tactic also used before he beat Anthony Joshua last September. "Let's retract that word, it wasn't a party it was a gathering," he said. "The same gathering was used as the prep on fight day for the AJ fight, the day he won.
"A lot was made of it with the energy he walked out at for the Anthony Joshua fight. That gathering was taken from home to the dressing room for that fight. That energy is what gave birth to that energy that he showed in the ring walk. Yes [we tried to replicate it], we were victorious, if it works for you the first time, you'd do it again.
"There might have been more people for this second gathering to get more energy, I'm a logical man and it makes logical sense. The AJ fight was big but this even trumps it, I try to understand and it may appear madness to people but it was the same thing that got us victory."
Reports claim that Dubois briefly left the home because he did not know the people in attendance. His father later drove him to Wembley after private cars which were accredited to enter the venue around the national stadium were used to transport the team to the venue.
That would only go on to further Dubois' arrival as they travelled in a car that was not accredited. There were also stunning scenes when entering the venue over getting some of those partygoers into the venue with Dubois held up in the middle of it all. When asked if Dubois knew all of the attendees at the party, Charles said: "I can't tell you he did. I wasn't there and I chose not to go there. My duty is on the training team to make sure we go to the dressing room and make sure everything is intact."
When is Daniel Dubois' next fight?
Whether the constant delays on the day of the fight affected Dubois' performance remains to be seen. As for what's next for the young Brit, his promoter Frank Warren has advised 'Triple D' to take six months off and learn from Usyk's mental resilience. He said: "You've got to learn from defeats, I mean that's what life's about, isn't it? You know, not everything goes your way, you got to come back, it's the mark of a man if he can do it, and we'll see if he could do it.
"He's got to resurrect himself. That's what we've had to do. That's the story. Usyk a quality, quality fighter, he has a great boxing IQ, and he's got the most unbelievable mental attitude. That's what makes him. That's what Daniel's got to learn from. Try and get and develop the mental attitude that Usyk has."
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